The surf and sand at Santa Cruz beaches are much closer to San Jose than Lake Tahoe’s numerous ski resorts, but that doesn’t keep avid skiers and snowboarders from making the trip to catch some runs over a weekend outing. Several Silicon Valley outdoor stores are stocked with the latest gear each season and lift ticket discounts.

Here are a few of our favorites:

Mel Cotton’s
Longtime local sporting goods shop Mel Cotton’s has discount lift tickets to Bear Valley, Sqauw, Alpine Meadows, Sugar Bowl, Homewood and Sierra-at-Tahoe. Plus they’re putting together Sunday bus trips to Bear Valley with special deals on gear and lift tickets from January til March. Snow-goers can also rent equipment and buy used and new.

Helm of Sun Valley
The other local outfitter, Helm of Sun Valley, has stores in San Jose and Capitola. Here one can find discount lift tickets to Bear Valley, Sugar Bowl, Kirkwood, Sierra-at-Tahoe, Squaw and Alpine Meadows. Helm has rentals and new equipment available.

REI
Most people’s first stop for outdoor equipment is the REI in Saratoga. The outdoor chain has discount lift tickets to some usual Sierra stops like Alpine, Bear Valley, Homewood, Sugar Bowl and Sierra-at-Tahoe, plus tickets to Mammoth and Mountain High. The Saratoga store has only new equipment for sale, no rentals.

Any Mountain
Any Mountain, a Bay Area mountaineering chain, offers discount lift tickets to Diamond Peak, Heavenly, Northstar, Kirkwood, Homewood, Sierra-at-Tahoe, Squaw, Alpine Meadows and Sugar Bowl. Any Mountain carries new equipment and rentals.